Jake has concerns, and I think we should be concerned about this. “High school students are being encouraged to write about their struggles, hardships, and traumatic life experiences in order to be admitted into college & university. This therapist has some concerns.” Writing about trauma can be beneficial. I’ve always encouraged people to talk and…
I think we can agree that having a manic episode in public shouldn’t mean you can be killed. We’d like to think we would be better than that but faced with an uncomfortable situation that is exactly what happened. Probably because no one on that subway expected that the possibility existed and hadn’t considered how they would act and how it might help until it was too late. The article linked below offers some good advice for how to both keep yourself safe and also de-escalate the situation. Which is what should happen if at all possible. Escalating the situation rarely ends well. Someone died in this case. Let’s do what we can to prevent escalation so that no one has to get hurt.
I feel like this is something that has gotten continuously worse over the years too. Kids who never get to just play, but are fully booked with one after-school activity after another. Teens are under constant pressure to spend their time doing things that look good on college applications. College-aged young adults are about filling out the resume or getting into the best graduate school programs, only to graduate into jobs that expect them to always be on call, to learn and grow themselves on their own time, all while social media culture tells them they should also have a side-hustle or three.
Having fun is time that could be spent on any of these accomplishments.
I’d flip that around. What’s the point of all of those accomplishments if you never have any fun?
This is where the community comes in. Kids with strong connections to safe adults are less likely to be targeted and more likely to tell if they are. LGBTQ kids are less likely to struggle with suicidal ideation when they have adults who accept them as they are. Kids dealing with anxiety and depression have better outcomes when they have safe adults to talk through their emotions with, who can support them through difficult times. I’ve discussed at length the importance of strong relationships with parents as the best preventive measure we have for keeping children safe and supported. I’ve also discussed, on my other site, the importance of work-life balance and inclusivity in the workplace for parents. That’s what being a community that supports families’ needs to succeed includes.
I talk about boundaries often. I know a few other folks in the survivor community who also talk about them often. It’s not a coincidence. Learning about healthy boundaries and how to keep them is a vital part of healing.
That’s the question we need to ask ourselves. Great, the Dodgers are keeping him under “contract” so he has medical coverage that helps him as an individual. What happens to everyone else in the same boat? Who’s getting them treatment and the coverage to pay for it?
